theme will be, and giving them a chance
to skip a shipment if they’re not interested in the theme.

“We have a cadence of communica-tion that we send our customers aftertheir initial order, which starts with atrigger email ‘thank you’ message withreceipt,” says Monoyudis. “A few dayslater we then send a ‘refer-a-friend’ emailencouraging them to share a promo codeto their friends. Once we have the track-ing numbers, we send that via email.”Unlike other mystery boxes, such asBirchbox (cosmetics and personal care)or Stitch Fix (clothing and fashion ac-cessories), where content is customizedbased on individual profiles and feedback,Supply Pod uses customer feedback tohelp determine new themes.

“Most importantly, shortly after ourcustomers receive their Supply Pod, wesend out a survey asking them to ranktheir favorite and least favorite itemsand give any feedback,” says Monoyudis.“This has been incredibly valuable as wecontinue to hone and evolve our mer-chandising strategy. After that, we sendan announcement about the next SupplyPod theme, and we might even revealMystery boxes are entertaining andgreat for gifting, but those attributes canalso present unique challenges for reten-tion.

“We do not offer customizations ofSupply Pods, but if a customer isn’t ex-cited about the upcoming theme, theyare able to skip it,” says Monoyudis. “Wealso have a cancellation process that al-lows our customer success team to offerdiscounts and other options to retain cus-tomers, as well as to solicit feedback.”

Conversation Starters

Once a product is delivered, it’s time
to get social. The new purchase is top
of mind and the customer may want to
leave feedback — ideally, an endorsement.

“When we believe a brand will havean active social media audience, we es-tablish pages across multiple social mediaplatforms accordingly,” says Weinstein.“As an example, for the Simply Fit Board,we implemented a social media strategythat included creating the ‘Simply FitBoard 21-Day Challenge,’ and createdonline communities to provide supportIn the case of Supply Pod, customersare all discovering the goods around thesame time, so it’s an ideal opportunityto nudge them for feedback and sharing.“We encourage our users to share theirexperiences through social media and, ifrelevant, through unboxing videos,” saysMonoyudis.

Unlike text snippets posted to Twitter,or a photo shared on Instagram or Face-book, unboxing is when customers recorda video of themselves unpacking a newproduct or box of goods.

They describe what they
see, talk about what they
like, and in some cases
perform demonstrations.

The videos are then published on video-sharing
platforms like You Tube or
Vimeo.

Depending on theperson’s social followingor the popularity of aproduct, the video canattract thousands — evenmillions — of views. As long as the videolinks remain active, they’re searchable,too, so if someone wants to see an un-packing video of a Supply Pod from thepast, they’re readily accessible.

Consumers are always seeking authenticity, honest reviews, and genuine recommendations. The low-fi production of
homemade unboxing videos harkens back
to the early days of DRTV, where regular
studio audience members participated
in a product demonstration and gave a
thumbs up to viewers at home.

Video tutorials, how-to guides, and
follow-up emails are more ways to engage
with customers post-purchase. People
may need help getting started with a new
product, or they might enjoy it more if
they learned different ways to use it.

“Our No. 1 goal is to make sure our
products are easy to use and exceed
consumer expectations,” says Weinstein.
“Additionally, we spend a great deal of
time creating and honing our instruction
manuals and inserting informational materials into the product shipments where
necessary. Our packaging and instruction
manuals all reference our online tutorials, ‘Tips and Tricks’ videos, and other
valuable ‘how-to’ information, which has

The team at Outer
Places actively
engages with its
Supply Pod customers
in order to determine
themes for upcoming
shipments and
promote additional
opportunities.